Ok - I realize that as I hit 65+, I am a little more shakey on the blocks. Fellow swimmers tell me that my starts are fairly good (I suspect they take age into consideration!); but I noticed that the guy in the lane next to me at a recent meet (who was a bit younger) started in the water and was even with me at about 20 yards into a 500.
I was wondering if anyone has a sense of what the advantage really is for "older" swimmers in terms of blocks v. in-water starts. Especially for those of us who prefer 200's and above!
since one can start in the water, I do not think starting on the side withyour toes over the edge will set off the touch pad any more than your full body weight pushing off in the water.
I think it has more to do with what you get out of your dive (block or wall) vs push. we have a few 50+ that haven't raced in a pool before only open water. they do not get the same advantage from a dive as I do. but they do have some advantage with diving vs pushing. if you have problems keeping your goggles on, then maybe it's better to push or dive from the side and not the block
for me in breaststroke it's not as much about time as it is about distance I can go with my underwater work that saves me strokes and energy. my first stroke on a dive is around the 11-12m mark. but on turns (from a push) I'm up around 8-9m.
since one can start in the water, I do not think starting on the side withyour toes over the edge will set off the touch pad any more than your full body weight pushing off in the water.
I think it has more to do with what you get out of your dive (block or wall) vs push. we have a few 50+ that haven't raced in a pool before only open water. they do not get the same advantage from a dive as I do. but they do have some advantage with diving vs pushing. if you have problems keeping your goggles on, then maybe it's better to push or dive from the side and not the block
for me in breaststroke it's not as much about time as it is about distance I can go with my underwater work that saves me strokes and energy. my first stroke on a dive is around the 11-12m mark. but on turns (from a push) I'm up around 8-9m.
